This thesis examines how diverse spatial strategies have been used as tools of control by the French state over Algerian populations. Focusing on three critical examples (the Bone Fortress (1855–1858), the Ameziane Farm (1957–1960), and the 1961 curfew imposed on Algerians in Paris) the research investigates the genealogy of the implementations of different forms of confinement throughout the French colonial project. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from Tschumi and Goldberg Hiller, as well as testimonies and archival research from Jean-Luc Einaudi, Nadia Biskri, and Leïla Sebbar, it reveals how architecture and space served not just as a backdrops but as an active agent in the reproduction of targeted violence and systemic oppression.
This thesis utilizes detailed case studies to illustrate how these spaces served as more than just detention sites; they emerged as mechanisms for shaping freedom, fragmenting communities, and reinforcing colonial ideologies. The curfew imposed in October 1961 triggered a protest by the Algerian community in Paris, which tragically culminated in the massacre of Algerian demonstrators by the French police. This curfew is examined as both the culmination of past colonial policies and a striking example of urban spatial violence within the metropole. Ultimately, this study contends that the legacies of such spatial confinements are complex and need to be addressed and discussed to build a better future together.